Smart Parking - Incorrect Evidence

Electrohead

Hi all,

I have searched the forums but cannot find anything that matches my case.

I received a PCN in August from Smart Parking claiming I was in breech of contract. The paper copy of the PCN only shows times of the alleged contravention (Arrival 07:26:19 Departure 07:29:13). Upon reading this it was obviously assumed that an error had been made and an appeal was made so I appealled.

Following the appeal, an automated acknowledgement was received, but I never received a rejection - just a letter from DRP demanding £170!.

Having spoken to Debt Recovery Plus, they advised that the online evidence showed the vehicle entering the site on 19/08/2024 and leaving the site on 20/08/2024, which when looking at the time stamp (not visible on the letter), it does. What the evidence does not show is the vehicle LEAVING the site shortly after 07:26:19 on 19/08/2024 having used the McDonald's drive through (and therefore not leaving the vehicle or indeed turning off the engine) nor does the evidence show the vehicle entering the site a few minutes before 07:29:13 – the time of the alleged contravention.

The claim that the vehicle was at the site for 24 hours is completely false. I frequent the drive through on a regular basis, 3 – 4 times a week to use the drive through only. The staff at McDonald's are aware of this and know that the vehicle has never been left on site.

McDonald's staff have said that they don't think that the CCTV footage goes back as far as August.

I was using my company vehicle and now my employer is worried about receiving a CCJ from DRP and wants to give DRP my details!

I'm at my wits end now and don't want to cause any grief at work. What should I do?

Grizebeck

Easy to solve
Complain to Smart that you never got an appeal rejection 
Tell them if they don't resolve this or issue you a new popla code you will Complain to the BPA
You should get a popla code at the very least
Tell the company it is hand and don't talk to drp again 
Do not appeal to popla without getting the appeal text from this site first.

Electrohead

I have complained to Smart Parking via their complaints email address (complaints@smartparking). Should I follow this up with the advice just received to that same address? Also, what about my employer giving my details to DRP? Should I be concerned? Many thanks.

Grizebeck

Tell your employer to do nothing
Drp are harmless. I would re email smart copy in the appeals email and tell them to issue a popla code or cancel the pcn

Electrohead

Ok. I'll try that. Thanks.

Gr1pr

If you fail to resolve it, or if they fail to respond, fill in the online complaint on the BPA website, to the BPA AOS compliance team, attaching copies of the correspondence 

Bazarius

DRPL will (or should)  refer this matter back to their client advising them of their double dip error . This should be done in the first instance . 

Should they fail to do that and continue to pursue the non existent debt then this is the start of a course of conduct amounting to harrasment and data breach . 

Electrohead

Well, I have just received this from Smart Parking -

We have taken note in the comments raised and offer the following response in reference to your complaint.

After investigation, we can see that an appeal was received on 20/09/2024. This has been looked into by our appeals team and an appeal response was generated to notify of the parking charge notice's cancellation however due to a technical error this was not sent, this has been raised to our technical team. 

Therefore we can confirm that the parking charge notice has been cancelled, and no further action is required.

We must inform you that you have the right to escalate your complaint further with our Accredited Trade Association. They can be contacted at (britishparking website)

Please note, you will need to upload a copy of your final complaint outcome from Smart Parking Limited, as part of your evidence submission. Any complaints escalated to the BPA’s AOS will not be considered without a copy of your outcome.

We do not believe that there is any further action required from your complaint and therefore we now consider this complaint closed.

You have now reached the end of our internal complaint’s procedure.

For any future queries, please contact info@smartparking.com via email, who will be able to assist you further.

I wasn't expecting a response so soon to be honest. I guess I can sleep easy now!

Just want to thank everyone that has offered me advice on here, it certainly worked!

Gr1pr

Well done 

Those technical errors of theirs are extremely common 

Coupon-mad

Quelle surprise!

Look at all these 'technical errors':

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81118495/#Comment_81118495